Recce Pharmaceuticals Announces Resignation of Director & Chief Research Officer Dr. Graham Melrose

SYDNEY, Australia, July 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE) (Company), the Company developing new classes of broad-spectrum synthetic antibiotics, today announced the completion of Dr. Graham Melrose’s executive service agreement as Chief Research Officer and his resignation as Executive Director from the Board.

Dr. Melrose said: “Recce was formed with a mission to address the global health threat of antibiotic resistance and I feel we have made generationally significant in-roads in that endeavour. The Company is now well setup to pursue its objectives, with expanding indications across a range of significant and unmet infectious diseases. I expect subsequent advances to reflect this and thank all for the support I have received.”

A pioneer in synthetic antibiotic development, Dr. Melrose founded Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd in 2008, later co-inventing RECCE^® antibiotics with Executive Director Michele Dilizia. He concludes a career of significant contributions to the world of Infectious Diseases, advancing a number of transformative medical technologies, including some eight years as former Executive Director and Head of Research at Johnson & Johnson (Aus).

Dr. John Prendergast, Non-Executive Chairman, added, “Recce is truly indebted to Dr. Melrose for his innovation, dedication and passion in creating our products and participating in their development. The foundation from Graham’s work allows us to move forward with confidence as the Company looks to achieve significant clinical and business milestones. For this we say emphatically, Thank You!”

The Company thanks Dr. Melrose for his outstanding service and wishes him the very best.

About Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd

Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE) is pioneering the development and commercialization of a new class of synthetic antibiotics with broad spectrum activity designed to address the urgent global health problem of antibiotic resistant superbugs.

Recce antibiotics are unique – their potency does not diminish even with repeated use, which is a common failure associated with existing antibiotic use and the resulting emergence of resistant superbugs.

Patented lead candidate RECCE^® 327, wholly owned and manufactured in Australia, has been developed for the treatment of blood infections and sepsis derived from E. coli and S. aureus bacteria – including their superbug forms.

The FDA has awarded RECCE^® 327 Qualified Infectious Disease Product designation under the Generating Antibiotic Initiatives Now (GAIN) Act – labelling it for Fast Track Designation, plus 10 years of market exclusivity post approval.

Recce wholly owns its automated manufacturing, ready to support first-in-human clinical trials. Recce’s anti-infective pipeline seeks to exploit the unique capabilities of RECCE^® technologies targeting synergistic, unmet medical needs.